Chanel steps into the boys’ club with first men’s timepiece

Chanel’s Monsieur Watch

French atelier Chanel is expanding offerings for its male clientele through the introduction of its first men’s timepiece.

Chanel presented the Monsieur Watch at Baselworld 2016 in Basel, Switzerland alongside its latest new and limited-edition watches for women. Currently, Chanel only offers men’s fragrances, and the brand has shown no signs of following industry trends to produce menswear, but the watch release may show that feelings toward the idea are evolving.

The $37,000 man
Although Chanel introduced the Monsieur Watch at Baselworld on March 17, the timepiece will not be available for purchase until June 2. For interested consumers, Chanel has shared a registration page on its Web site to keep up-to-date.

In the image shared on social media as well as the registration page, Chanel only shared a shadowy side view of the Monsieur Watch, showing just the small lion motif on the crown. Similarly, the countdown clock for June 2 uses the inner workings of Monsieur Watch’s movements within the numbers.

Besides being the first men’s watch by Chanel, the Monsieur Watch counts other firsts for the house in the horology space. The watch, which took five years to develop, features Chanel’s first movement made in-house, the Calibre 1, and was the first timepiece built at the brand’s La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

CHANEL’s new Monsieur Watch will be unveiled on June 2nd. #baselworld2016Register at chanel.com/-MonsieurdeChanel to be kept up to date.

Posted by CHANEL on Thursday, March 17, 2016

Chanel has been creating women’s watches since 1987, while others in the sector have simply taken men’s designs and shrunk them down to fit women’s wrists. After being well-established in the women’s watch category, Chanel is now heading in the opposite direction of its watchmaking peers.

Nicolas Beau, international watch director at Chanel, told International New York Times in a phone conversation that, “The way [Chanel works] is to start from the stories we want to tell. We don’t really look at marketing surveys or whether the market is saturated or not.

“It is natural that this year we would want to explore the great complications of the masculine field. We feel we have a great contribution to give,” he said.

Per the International New York Times, the Monsieur Watch will be limited to a series of 300, half in beige gold and half in white gold. The watch will retail for $35,000 to $37,000, respectively.

During Baselworld, one watch showcased by the brand was the Boy.Friend timepiece fitted with “Arty Diamonds.” The Boy.Friend carries on Chanel’s tradition of borrowing from the boys. Coco Chanel used to take inspiration from the wardrobes of Boy Capel and the Duke of Westminster for her designs.

Chanel also references the Nº5 bottle and place Vendôme in the Boy.Friend. An oversize case and a mechanical movement that uses manual winding give further masculine qualities to the watch style (see story).

from Jewelry – Luxury Daily http://www.luxurydaily.com/chanel-steps-into-the-boys-club-with-first-mens-timepiece/
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